You can tell Halloween is here. Sure there are pumpkins on porches and empty chocolate wrappers strewn around my house, but the dead give away is all the horror flicks on AMC, TMC, and just about every other channel.
I usually try to avoid getting the wits scared out of me. I can’t watch a scary movie unless I have a person sitting on either side of me (preferably over the age of 18) and I have my two hands in front of my face. I can only watch by peeking through my fingers.
Perhaps I was traumatized as a child. Wait a minute…I was traumatized as a child. It is all coming back to me now (picture dream-like music and a fuzzy TV screen)…
Mom dropped my older sister and me at the movie theater to see Herbie, The Love Bug. (This was not the Lindsay Lohan Herbie, but the much better Michele Lee Herbie.) I think I was about eight years old and my sister was ten. (Dropping two young kids at the movie theater all alone is unimaginable now, but it was pretty normal in my day.)
I am sure I was super excited to see Herbie, but I can’t really remember – my memory is a little fuzzy. But this I am sure of – right after my sister and I got out of the car, she announced that we would not be seeing Herbie as planned. Instead, we would be seeing Dracula Rises from the Grave.
I know I was only eight at the time, but you didn’t have to be a genius to know that Dracula was worlds a part from Herbie.
I am sure Mom had told me to stay with my sister so I did. I lasted until the first neck puncture, which then sent me running out of the theater.
I sat on the curb waiting for Mom to pick us up. I’m sure I looked pretty pathetic as I sat there hoping I could find some garlic and a cross when I got home.
I have absolutely no memory of my sister getting in trouble. But what I do remember is this…
As my parents passed my bedroom that very night, my dad said (and I quote), “Let’s put Dana’s name on her door so Dracula will know to get her and not us.”
To this day, I sleep with my covers pulled all the way up to protect my neck.
I wonder what the Statute of Limitations is for child cruelty. When I bring it up now, Dad just laughs and gives some lame explanation like he was doing me a favor – saving me from watching future horror movies and getting scared later down the road. Thanks, Dad.
So it makes sense that as an adult, I prefer calm over fear in every situation. And all the new vampire craze? Not for me.
The only thing scarier than that Dracula movie was teaching my daughter to drive. Where is Herbie when you need him?
Happy Halloween! Let me know what scares you.
This slow-cooker Mexican pork is great for a Halloween night.
Mexican Pork
Ingredients: 3 lbs pork (any cut will do), one package of Taco seasoning, one package of Burrito seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon of cumin, and red pepper flakes to taste.
In a bowl, mix all the seasonings together to make a dry rub. Roll all sides of the pork in the dry rub and place in the slow-cooker. Cook on high for six hours.
Pull the pork apart with two forks. Place meat in a flour tortilla, top with lettuce, shredded cheese, guacamole, and salsa. (I am sure you can make the dry rub with just one of the seasoning packets, or just 1/2 of each one. As you can tell, I am not a chemist 🙂 ) Let me know how you like it. (Thanks, girl at the tennis match who shared this recipe. I changed a couple of things.)
momslifeponderings 
I can’t remember if I left a comment previously. It was a surprise to find your post in my email this morning, so I obviously can’t remember much of anything! But, I loved it! Took me right back to what I still consider the absolutely most terrifying movie of all time (and that was watching alternately through my fingers or having my fingers in my ears and my eyes clenched shut) was The Exorcist. I have never willingly watched a scary movie since then. I was an adult, with children, when I saw it, and the scariest thing I’d seen previously was some Godzilla movie. I hate being scared!
Thanks for the pork recipe. I’m going to put that on this morning and surprise my husband with an actual meal after work!
Of course, what scares me now is much more insidious . . . walking alone in the dark, being in a plane (and crashing and leaving my children motherless), and just plain worrying about my girls.
Sandi,
I have heard many people say the Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time. I’ve never seen it completely. I have not seen the Godzilla movie, so thanks for the warning! Just fyi – I used a smaller cut of pork, so I used 1/2 packet each of the taco and burrito seasoning. Adjust as you need to. Enjoy!
Sounds to me your Dad had superior parenting skills. I suspect he was rather old when you were born and had mellowed with life. It was his kind way of showing there are consequences for disobeying your parents and getting caught.
Seems like you only came away with the don’t get caught part of the lesson.
Elmer
Ah…Mr. Magilicutty,
Welcome back. It is interestng how you only comment on posts which involve parenting. It’s good to know you are still open to learning in your old age. Tell Lucy Fudd that you both might like the Mexican Pork recipe included in this post. I know how she likes to use the Crock Pot.